Roy Trenneman
Roy Trenneman, worker in the IT Department of Reynholm Industries, is a lazy, laid back Irishman whose work day consists of playing video games, indulging himself on sugar and crisps, and reading comics and doing the minimum amount of work as possible. He will avoid putting any effort into his job at all costs, once even resulting in him building a machine that would answer his phone for him. Biography Early life and career Roy was born in Ireland, between 1978 and 1979, but moved to the United Kingdom later in his life. It is presumed that he attended college in the UK, as he went to university with Alistair, a UK resident. He briefly worked as a waiter, carrying the food in his trousers before serving it to his customers if they were rude to him. Roy was hired to work in Reynholm Industries by Denholm Reynholm and was put in the IT Department with Maurice Moss, who would later become his best friend. At one stage, a fire broke out in the office after Moss's negligence with a soldering iron, causing a near fatality. Roy and Moss, however, were left uninjured. At one stage, Roy and Moss visited Amsterdam, where they got extremely drunk and hired prostitutes. Not knowing what to do with them, Roy and Moss brought the prostitutes, Brandy and Crystal, to a carnival, where they played various fairground games. In 2001, Richmond Avenal, the once Second-in-Command of Reynholm Industries, was demoted to work in the IT Department as Denholm disagreed with his gothic lifestyle. Eventually, Roy and Moss had become so tired of Richmond's depressing and pessimistic outlook in life, they banished him to work in a tiny storeroom behind the department 2005 In late 2005, Jen Barber joined the IT Department as Head of the Department and given the title Relationships Manager. Jen had falsely claimed that she had had a lot of experience with computers on her CV, and, against her wishes, was put in the IT Department where she met Moss and Roy. Despite getting on relatively well with Moss, Roy was rightly convinced that Jen did not have a sufficient knowledge of computers to work in IT, however, was forced to keep this to himself when Denholm started firing any employees who disagreed with each other. Jen continued working as Head of the IT Department with insufficient skills. Later that year, Roy dated Reynholm Industries' resident receptionist, Patricia. Midway through the date, Roy accidently rubbed chocolate onto his forehead. Patricia, who mistaked the smudge for faeces, rushed home once the date had finished. When Roy followed her, she finally revealed what had been making her uncomfortable throughout the date. Roy explained to her that it was chocolate and asked to come into her house, however, Patricia refused and the following day told the whole office about the embarassing date. Roy, inspired by the date, made a bet with Jen that all women like the "bastard"-type aggresive man. He went on to prove this point by posting an ad on an online dating website making it out that he was a horrible, agressive individual. He subsequently recieved a reply and went on to go out on a date with the woman to prove his point. Work for Douglas Reynholm In 2007, Denholm commited suicide after irregularities were found in his pension fund, leaving his unexperienced, sexually-frustrated son, Douglas, as his successor. At first, Moss and Roy didn't respect their new boss, giving him a phone which violently vibrates whenever rung, but both learn to treat him with respect eventually. In 2008, Roy was tricked into taking part in a robbery with a group of football fans he just befriended. Roy managed to get away without being detected by the police, unlike the football fans themselves. Characteristics Personality Roy is extremely lazy, and will avoid any physical effort at all costs. His worklife consists of indulging himself on junk food and sugar while playing video games or surfing the web. He has a great love of comic books, reading them for hours on end while at work. He puts minimal effort into his job, despite the fact that he is more than capable of doing it well. He is very unhygenic, and litters his desk and the floor with empty crisp packets and old comic books. He has been described as a 'social piranha' by Jen, and his only true friend is Moss. He can be incredebly pessimistic at times, and only smiles at the expense of others. He can be extremely selfish at times, once stuffing a computer monitor up his shirt to smuggle it out of his office. He had been known to steal food from vending machines, however, he showed his righteous side when he called the police when he witnessed a robbery, until he realised that he was actually part of it. Roy is also quite clumsy and is often seen falling over pieces of stray computer equipment. He went through a phase in which he was affected be Jen's menstual cycle and became overly feminine, crying when complimented and saying he thinks he is ugly. However, after having a 'big girls night out', he swiftly recovered. Roy is of average intelligence, but can be extremely dimwitted at times. On one occasion, he convinced Jen that her builder featured on the TV show Builders from Hell, and said he was 99% sure of it. Later, this was reduced to 50%, when Roy remembered that the builder on the show was actually black. Sexuality Roy is heterosexual, but is often unsuccessful with the opposite sex. He usually makes things up to make himself look more impressive. He has gone on many unsuccessful dates, including one where he accidently smeared chocolate on his head, making his date mistake it for feces, one on which he tried to prove that 'all women love bastards', and one which he dined with 'The Joker'. He has occasionally slept with women who he wouldn't have gone out with if he was sober, including Dr. Mendall, the building's psychiatrist who strongly resembles Roy's mother, and a woman who demands money from tramps. He briefly had a relationship with Kimberly, a girl from the seventh floor who Roy originally thought was beautiful, however, after he had to make a nude calendar of 'geeky' men, he is unable to continue seeing her. Skills and abilities *'Machinery Construction': Roy is quite skilled with machinery, creating a machine which could answer the phone for him, and a machine with which he could steal food from a vending machine with. He was also capable of constructing several security cameras for Jen's house, which she could use to spy on her builder with from the comfort of the office. *'Computer Expertise': Roy is capable of setting up computers and performing basic tasks, however, his knowledge of computers is hugely overshadowed by that of Moss. *'Video Games': Due to his obsession with computers, Roy is quite skilled at video games, particularly Guitar Hero, and is capable of scoring a perfect score with the help of Jen. Relationships Maurice Moss Moss is Roy's best friend, and they often meet up together and socialise. They both have a close relationship and Moss is one of the few people Roy can confine in. Despite this, Roy has been known to exploit Moss, and sometimes insults him, and the pair occasionally get into physical fights. Moss is under the impression that they spend so much time together that he and Roy are like a married couple, however, Roy disagrees. Roy is always willing to help Moss, and once prepared him for facing a gang of bullies. Both have a love of technology and machinery and often play video games and watch movies together. Jen Barber At first, Roy was rightly convinced that Jen had lied on her CV and said that she had a respectable knowledge of computers. He was constantly looking for things which could lead to her sacking, however, he was forced to give up. However, Jen and Roy's relationship improved over time and both were seen dancing together at the 'Thank-You Party' for Project Icarus. At times, Jen has been known to insult and mock Roy, particularly about an incident in which he looked like he had feces on his head. Despite this, Jen only saw Roy as a work colleague, and never as a friend, until she went to an interview for another job. There she realised that Roy and Moss need her, and that she couldn't possibly leave them. This indicates a genuine liking for both Roy and Moss, who she had originally seen as just work associates. Jen later admitted that Moss and Roy are her friends, and on one occasion stood up for them when Douglas began insulting them. Douglas Reynholm Douglas is the manager of Reynholm Industries and hence is Roy's boss. At first, Roy had little respect for Douglas, giving him a phone which vibrates violently when rung. However, Roy soon grows to like Douglas, probably because Douglas is wealthy and Roy can take advantage of this. Douglas has admitted that he doesn't like the "boss, employee" relationship with the pair and once offered Roy to come to his house and watch a film together. Douglas occasionally calls Roy up to his office, usually with an incredibily easy task for him to do e.g. opening a laptop. Richmond Avenal Roy originally disliked Richmond, as he felt that he was 'bringing the mood down'. He treated him like vermin, threatening him with a sweeping brush and banishing him to look after some abandoned mainframes without any briefing to what he was meant to do. However, when Jen came to the office, she campaigned for Richmond to return to his original job. After Richmond came out of isolation, Roy's relationship with him improved slightly, offering him to come with them to the theatre. Richmond got scury in 2008 and so was absent from the office, however, Roy didn't miss him very much. Physical description Roy is nearly always seen in casual dress, usually a t-shirt depicting a video game or something computer related, and plain jeans or trousers. He has unruly, messy dark brown hair and can be seen with rough stubble growing around his face. He has blue eyes and sometimes carries around a small, leather bag. Behind the scenes *Roy is played by comedian and actor, Chris O'Dowd. *Graham Linehan, writer of The IT Crowd, has revealed that Roy is the only character who he has ever based on himself. Linehan has said that he and Roy share a love of comic books, board games and computers and a hatred of football. *As of June 2010, Roy is the second most popular character in the show according to a poll conducted by Channel 4, recieving 18%. *Up until the fourth series, Roy's surname was never mentioned, however, Chris O'Dowd and Graham Linehan discussed possibilities such as 'McGonagall' and 'Sheperd', although these were never put into use. Graham Linehan liked the idea of Roy owning his own website and created a webpage on which Roy was featured. Roy was seen viewing the website in the episode The Speech, and on closer expection, the website's title reads, Please Think I'm Interesting with Roy Tenneman. Linehan, however, commented that this was not to be considered canonical. In Something Happened it was confirmed during the court scene that Roy's surname is in fact 'Trenneman'. It should be noted that Tenneman and Trenneman are very similar. Name etmology *''Roy'' is of Gailic and Irish origin, meaning 'red'. *Roy's surname, Trenneman, is of Old English origin. External links *Roy on Wikipedia *Roy's Chracter Profile on Channel 4 Trenneman, Roy Trenneman, Roy Trenneman, Roy Trenneman, Roy Trenneman, Roy Trenneman, Roy Trenneman, Roy